Tuesday, 13 December 2011

As a mother I faced a lot of problems when it can came to feeding my kids, especially my eldest daughter. Sometimes it becomes hard to make kids eat the regular food, roti-sabzi. Here's a quick fix for all you mothers to make them eat what you want while they enjoy it too.

Recipe
Cut chapati into 4 pieces, heat oil in a pan and roast the chapatis till they turn crisp. Mix pesto in the sabzi and grate cheese in it. Spread the sabzi on roasted chapatis, top it with chopped tomatoes, onion and cucumber. You can garnish it with more cheese if you wish. serve it to the kids with a glass of milk shake. I am sure they'll love it. If your kid doesn't like pesto you can use salsa dip or plain tomato ketchup instead.

Recipe
wash lemons and let them dry. Cut them into 8 pieces. Take lemon pieces in a pressure cooker, add rest of the ingredients and cook them. remove from gas after two whistles. Let it cool and transfer in a glass jar. Pickle is ready.

Recipe
Wash lemons and dry them. Cut each lemon into 4 pieces. Grind all the spices a bit rough (mota). Put all the lemon pieces in a glass Jar (martaban), add heeng, salt, sugar and ground spices.Cover the jar with a clean cloth and keep it in the open (under the sky) for 15 days (and nights). After 15 days Pickle will be ready to eat.

Sunday, 20 November 2011

The winters are here (well, almost here for Mumbaikars) and it's time to eat some sarson ka saag and makke ki roti. This recipe has become pretty famous in my family and among friends and every season I end up making it multiple times. Recently, my husband took help of a friend for train reservations (yes, it's a huge challenge in India to get last minute train tickets) and when he asked how can he return the favour, the friend asked for some sarson ka saag. So, here I am sharing the recipe with you. Try it, eat it and let me know how was it. You can also send me the pictures at kavitamehrotra05 (at) gmail (dot) com. I would love to see them.

Recipe:
Boil pasta in a big utensil with lots of water (don't add salt or oil). While it's boiling heat oil in a pan, crush ginger and garlic and put it in pan. Add mushrooms, saute them for a minute or two and them add spinach. Once the spinach is cooked add pasta and salt. Mix it well. Garnish it with green pesto and oregano before serving.

Monday, 7 November 2011

Winters have arrived and the vegetable market is stocked. This is the best time to make vegetable pickles. The one I am going to tell you here is very famous up North. It's also known as Punjabi achaar (pickle).

Recipe:
Cut cauliflower, carrot and turnip into small pieces. Put a long incision in the chilies. Boil the vegetables (including peas) for 2-3 minutes, spread them on a cloth and keep them in the Sun for a day. Add salt once they dry up. Heat oil in a pan, add all the spices and vegetables and let them cook for few minutes. Add vinegar after it cools down. Preserve in a bottle.

Saturday, 29 October 2011

The kachori thali is very famous across Uttar Pradesh. The meal consists of urad dal stuffed puris/kachoris, potato sabzi, kaddoo (pumpkin) sabzi, lauki (bottleguard) ka raita and methi (fenugreek) chutney. It's almost a compulsion to make it whenever my whole family is together. Here's the recipe for you. A little hard work is required but it'll pay off once you eat it.

Recipe:
Mix all the ingredients for the filling and grind them dry. Add water and make it like dough.
Add half tspn salt and 2 tbspns oil in flour, pour some water and knead it tightly. Take some dough, fill little stuffing and roll it flat like a puri. Heat oil in pan and fry these puris till they are crisp and brown.

Recipe:
Heat oil in a deep pan, add cumin seeds, fennel, heeng and let them split. Mash the potatoes with hand and them in the pan. Add salt, coriander powder and dry mango powder. Pour atleast 500 ml water and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Recipe:
Grate lauki and boil it in a pressure cooker adding two cups of water. Take it out once done. Drain out the water and mix the lauki with curd. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.Methi ki chatniIngredients:
100 gms methi (soaked in water for 3 hours)
100 gms tamarind (soaked in water for 15 minutes)
5 green chillies finely chopped
1 pinch of heeng
1 tspn cumin seeds
1 tspn sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 tbspn oil

Recipe:
Heat oil in a pan, add heeng, cumin seeds and chillies and let them split. Drain out water and add methi too. Add rest of the ingredients and tamarind pulp and let it cook for 10 mins.

A typical North Indian kachori thali is ready. Now its time to get a taste of all your hard work.

Recipe:
Take all the ingredients in a cooker and pressure cook them (3 whistles should be enough). Grind the mixture into a fine paste (Keep it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes if the consistency is not thick enough to make patty). Add salt. Heat some oil in a flat pan, make small round patties from the mixture and fry them till they turn brown and crisp from both the sides. Serve with onion rings, green chutney and paranthas.

Sunday, 23 October 2011

Since Diwali is just around the corner, I am sharing the recipe for phirni which is a famous Kashmiri dessert. Its available in almost all the Punjabi and Kashmiri restaurants these days. I like to make it the traditional way with a little kewda water.

Recipe:
Soak the rice for 2-3 hours. Drain the water and spread it on paper and let it dry overnight. Grind the rice next day, roast the powder in a pan till it turns pink. Add milk and sugar, let it simmer on low flame till the rice is cooked and the pudding becomes thick. Mix kewda water and let it cool. Pour the phirni in small earthen bowls, garnish with almonds and pistachios and refrigerate before serving.

Recipe:
Clean the muskmelon seeds and roast them in a pan. Remove the seeds. Take a small cup of water in a pan, add sugar and heat it to make toffee (chashni). Add 1 spoon ghee in toffee. Drop some toffee in water, if it becomes solid that means its ready. Add roasted seeds in the toffee. Spread 1 spn ghee on a steel dishe. Pour the seed mixed toffee in the dish and spread it. Let it cool. Once its thickened cut into diamond shaped pieces. Its ready to be served.

Recipe:
Boil the peas till they are soft. Heat the oil in a pan, add asofoetida, cumin seeds, chilly and ginger. Saute the peas, add salt , sugar and garnish with coriander and lemon juice. ready to serve. YOu can also serve it with drinks.

Recipe:
Sieve the flour, add 2 tbspn oil, some water and knead it. Peel the boiled potatoes, mash them and add all the ingredients. Take some dough and make a round flat bread using the rolling pin. Prick the flat bread using a knife or a fork (it'll keep the flour covering ceisp). Spread the potato mixture over it and roll it in such a way that the mixture is inside. Cut the roll into small discs and fry them in oil. Serve with green or red chutney.

Recipe:
Wash the tamarind and let it boil (on low flame) in 1/2 ltr water. Add jaggery too. If possible use an aluminium pan. Let it cool and sieve the liquid. Heat oil in the pan add asofoetida and let it split. Now add the tamarind and jaggery liquid. Add all the spices, salt and raisins. Chop the dry dates and add them too. When the liquid gets thicker remove it from the flame and let it cool. The dip can be used for 15-20 days. Serve it with samosas, pakodas or any other snack.

Recipe:
Seive the flour, add 2 tbspn oil and mix it in the flour with hands. Add water and knead the dough. Cut potatoes into small peices without peeling it off. Heat oil in a pan and fry the potatoes till they turn golden. Add all the spices, salt and coriander to the potatoes and mash them. Take some dough (size of a lemon) and flatten it with a rolling pin. Cut it into half, fill in the potatoes, close it so that it looks like a triangle. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the samosas. Serve them with red and green chutney and a cup of hot tea.

Recipe:Soak moong dal for two hours. Drain out the water and grind the dal into a fine paste. Add heeng, cumin powder, and salt while grinding. Take the paste in a bowl and stir with hand for few minutes. Add some water. Mash the cheese, add salt, chillies, ginger and corriander. Heat a flat pan, spread some oil on the pan and pour two tbspns of batter on it, spread it like a pancake. When partially cooked spread the cheese over it and fold the pancake. Take it out when crisp and serve with curd or green chutney.

Recipe:
Soak moong dal for two hours. Drain out the water and grind the dal into a fine paste. Add chillies, ginger, heeng, cumin powder, corriander and salt while grinding. Take the paste in a bowl and stir with hand for few minutes. Add some water. Heat a flat pan, spread some oil on the pan and pour two tbspns of batter on it. Spread it like a pancake and cook from both the sides. Serve with curd or green chutney.

Recipe:
Wash sabudana and let it soak in the water for half an hour. Remove extra water and leave it overnight.

Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the potatoes, add green chiliies, groundnuts, dry mango powder and sugar and fry till the potatoes are cooked. Add sabudana and salt and mix it well. Garnish with green corriander and serve with curd. You can also add almonds and cashew-nuts to make it rich.

Recipe:
Wash the rice and drain out the water. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the rice on low flame. Add little water and when rice starts to cook add milk. Let it cook on slow flame. When it starts to thicken add sugar, raisins, almonds and cardamom powder. Let it cool for a while and refrigerate before serving. Enjoy with your family and friends.

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

A filling and heavy breakfast for a winter morning. I love making them for my family whenever we are together during winters.

Quantity: 8 Samosas

Ingredients:

8 slices of bread

4 boiled potatoes

2 tspn chopped cabbage

4 tspn grated carrot

4 tbspn green peas

1 tspn chopped ginger

1 tspn green chilly

2 tspn chopped corriander

Salt to taste

Oil

Recipe:

Mash the potatoes and mix the ingredients (except bread and oil). Dip a slice of bread in water, press with both hands to squeeze out the water. Place the mixture in the centre and wrap the bread around it. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the samosas. Serve with sauce or green chutney.

Sunday, 28 August 2011

These dosas are a very healthy breakfast options and my family loves them especially with green chutney.

Ingredients:

1 small cup Lentil (whole Masoor dal)

1/2 cup Urad dal

1/2 cup whole moong dal

1/2 cup bengal gram (chana dal)

1/2 cup arhar dal

1 cup rice

Salt to taste

1 pinch asofoetida

1 inch ginger

2 green chillies

Oil

Recipe:

Soak all dals and rice overnight. Drain out the water, mix them together and grind them into a fine paste. Add asofoetida, salt, chopped ginger and chopped green chillies. Heat a non stick pan, spread some oil on it and make medium sized and thin pancakes. Take it out when its cooked and crispy and serve with green chutney.

Mix wheat flour, refined flour and semolina, add milk,water and a pinch of salt and knead the dough. Keep aside. Heat 1 spoon oil in a pressure cooker, add cumin powder and asofoetida and moong dal, puor some water and pressure cook for a while. Take it out once cooked, let it cool and grind it. Add rest of the spices to make a nice filling. Now make small balls from the dough, fill the mixture and make round, flat circles with a rolling pin. Heat oil in a pan and fry the kachoris. Serve hot with green chutney or aloo (potato) ki sabzi.

After a lot of thinking over what should be my first recipe I though that since breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, I should start with the same. So here's my quick recipe for corn patty or tikki as we call it in Hindi.

Ingredients:

250 gms boiled potatoes

100 gms grated cottage cheese

50 gms sweeet corn

1 tspn finely chopped greeen cilly

1 tspn finely chopped ginger

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Recipe:

Peel and mash the potatoes, add all the ingredients, mix well and make round patties. Heat oil in a pan and fry the patties till they turn golden. Serve hot with green chutney (recipe for that will follow).

About Me

I am a home maker and mother of 3 daughters. I have always been passionate about cooking and experimenting with new recipes. So I thought why not share my love for food with the whole world hence this blog was born. This is the place, I reveal all my secrets to the most delectable Indian recipes and whatever I have learned from my mother.